Talk:Commando (1985 film)

Page move
This page was moved from "Commando (movie)" to "Commando (film)" as per the naming convention set out at Naming conventions (films) – Ianblair23 (talk) 06:17, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Freddy Mercury as Bennett?
Can anyone confirm this with a source? I've never heard this before, and it sounds made up. 24.57.203.238 04:51, 2 April 2006 (UTC) Haha very funny.Jayteecork 20:47, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

Body count

 * The article quibbles about the body count - it lists two very different figures. It would be interesting to go through the film on DVD and come up with a definitive breakdown of how many people Arnie kills. That would please me no end. There is a brief mention in Commando of Matrix being a kid in East Germany; I don't know how much backstory the writers came up with. Probably none. But that would be worth mentioning. The article also claims that the script for Commando II became Die Hard. But Die Hard was based on a novel by Roderick Thorpe. One of the screenwriters of Die Hard also worked on Commando and it would probably be better to say that elements of Commando II were folded into Die Hard, along with a source to attest this. -Ashley Pomeroy 20:27, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

(Too many parentheses)
This article is glutted with them.


 * The entire article should be rewritten. The editor should be fined for using parentheses or long sentences. There are many factual errors as well - the attack on Matrix's country home does not occur despite him being given security - the useless security detail is not relevant to whether an attack occurs or not!; Matrix does not agree to go along with the plan, he pretends to do so; Arius has a private "army" - but is it solely of US soldiers? - unlikely; mercenaries seizing power is not a military coup; what is an "off-duty flight attendant Cindy" [sic] - apart from appalling grammar?; Cindy's help is not "complicit" but grudging; I don't think that Matrix was arrested for "breaking and entering the surplus army store", so much as for vandalism, theft, and assault.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 01:37, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

What are those 2 cars..
In one particular chase scene between Sully, Matrix and Cindy, I need help identifying the two cars involved. I know one was a Porsche 911, but the other one I can't quite figure out. IIRC, it was a small, 2 seater open top sports car, along the lines of a Porsche 356 or a VW Karmann Ghia. Anyone know what this 2nd car was?

It's a Sunbeam Alpine(60's British) Did anyone pickup the 'goof' with Sully's Porche? At the end of the chase scene he flips iton it's side smashing the drivers door in. When Matrix and Cindy drive off in it the door and car are undamaged. TIG76.179.132.177 15:42, 6 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm almost certain that it was on purpose.

"Considered to be one of the best films of all time"
Not only is this not NPOV, it's also a blatant lie added into the article by some fan of the movie.

The film has a 5.8/10 at IMDB, It has an average rating of 5.9/10 at Rotten Tomatoes (71%). The movie has never been listed in any serious film critic's top movies of all time list, nor has it won any awards. It is not considered one of the greatest films of all time by any measurable means. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.114.118.85 (talk) 19:49, 25 February 2007 (UTC).
 * Agreed. Everyone I know who's seen this movie really say the only high parts of it were his one-liners, the theme song and Arnold's "going commando" sequence at the end (although that's still one of the most memorable scenes in movie history IMO). Everyone I know says that it's a good movie but it's not a masterpiece. So no, it most certainly is not considered to be one of the best films of all time by anyone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.46.117.40 (talk) 01:49, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Action comedy?
Should this film be labelled as an action comedy? Bombofin 19:13, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
 * No. Optimus Sledge 16:41, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes - no one can watch it and say it was intended to be a serious film.124.197.15.138 (talk) 01:37, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

DVD cover copyright issues
I have uploaded the scanned DVD cover several times, and it keeps getting deleted recently. I've chosen the "DVD Cover" option each time. Is there another option I should be selecting? I'm not trying to cause any trouble. I just don't understand why it keeps happening. I created this article several years ago, and the same cover was unaltered for a long time. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong. Thanks.==Fair use rationale for Image:250px-Commando2.jpg== Image:250px-Commando2.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.Betacommand (talk • contribs • Bot) 22:34, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Commandoposter.jpg
Image:Commandoposter.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 21:30, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

The actor who looks like Freddy Mercury is...
Interesting enough, Commando is on Starz Action right now. The actor who plays Bennett is an Australian actor named Vernon Wells. He has been playing badguy-type roles for more than 30 years. I've first seen in the 2nd Mad Max movie. he was the motorcycle guy with his butt half out. He also played in the Kelly LeBrock movie, Weird Science, playing a role similar to his Mad Max role.

"What happened to Sully? I let him go." *ROFL*

Rayghost (talk) 03:23, 16 April 2008 (UTC)Rayghost

The biggest gun Matrix used that has no description
I see a description for every major weapon he used except for one. It's the same length as the M-60 machine gun. The gun he used looks like it is a version of the AK-47 modified for specialized usage like Special Forces. Can anyone confirm that the exact model and type of gun and it's usage? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rayghost (talk • contribs) 03:27, 16 April 2008 (UTC)


 * If we are thinking of the same gun, it is the Valmet mentioned in the text. I believe it is a civilian-legal version of the rifle, with a shoulder stock modified so that the rifle no longer has a pistol grip (and is thus not an assault rifle). I'd like to add that, having looked over the edit summaries, I described my one and only edit to this article with the phrase "disabled half-wit". That was absolutely out of order, and I have no idea why I was so angry as to describe a trivial edit to a trivial film in such a way (mid-life crisis?). I apologise to all and sundry. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 11:10, 8 September 2008 (UTC)


 * No, I'll tell you why; it was because I had just been reading about the film at Ruthless Reviews, a hotbed of angry profanity, and Google's top search return for the word "ruthless". That must be the reason. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 11:17, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

Film's continuity mistakes should be pointed out
It's no secret that this film is very well known for its continuity mistakes specially within the yellow car chase scene and the scene that follows. The filmmaking community and media enthusiasts pinpoint this film's mentioned scenes as classic continuity mistakes. A mention of this of some sort could enrich this movie's page since it is somewhat of importance to general culture to know about it.74.65.229.132 (talk) 18:12, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

MPAA censorship
I watched the DVD re-release of this movie and it is missing the scene where Matrix kills the black man in the blue suit by impaling him on a steel pike. Shouldn't this be mentioned? Cid SilverWing —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.166.178.16 (talk) 00:10, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Disgraced army members?
In the cast line it says that Cooke, Sully and Henriques are all ex-marines. Where in the movie did they say that? The only one who has a confirmed role in the army was Cooke during his fight with Matrix. When were the others mentioned as army members?

Also another question, it says that Cooke, Sully, Henriques and Diaz were the members of Arius and Bennett's gang. However I think there was one more guy. There was that fat guy who gave Sully his money and tried to shoot Matrix but got shot by security officers during the mall shootout. Does anyone know his name? --24.46.117.40 (talk) 02:16, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Goofs (removed section)
None of this is referenced. It is also not part of WP's MoS (See WP:Film) or encyclopedic. This material should be on a fansite not a WP article on a film.


 * While Matrix battles his way through the courtyard near the end of the movie, he lobs several grenades at Arius's men. One grenade explodes on the grass in the courtyard, throwing two men through the air. The springboard that is used to launch one of the men into the air is clearly visible, albeit painted colored like the grass surrounding it.
 * As Matrix fires the machine gun the ammunition belt runs low several times, then a moment later it appears as a fresh belt.
 * When Matrix is loading up gear on the raft boat. He has on black Speedos, when he reaches shore he has on a tan color Speedo, then back to black when on shore.
 * When he pushes the yellow Porsche onto its wheels, the side is dented, when he drives it away, it is not dented, when he shows up at the motel, it is dented again
 * When he hangs Sully over the cliff just before the above scene, a rope is clearly visible around his foot.
 * While Matrix is destroying the guerrillas' main campsite, the audience can clearly see that at least one of the guerrillas is just a dummy, and it fails to collapse when the building it is guarding is blown up by Matrix.
 * When matrix leaves the airport in pursuit of sully the filming crew is clearly visible in the reflection of the door panel of the car.

Rambo similarity
The movie seems to have been derived from "Rambo". Anyone got any info on how "Commando" was inspired/written? 209.77.229.154 (talk) 08:02, 7 July 2011 (UTC)
 * What similarity? Vietnam veteran struggling to cope with post-war alienation ≠ angry single father with machine gun. GRAPPLE   X  08:14, 7 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Retired Schwarzenegger/Stallone goes on a rampage and shoots up the place and everybody in it by using his military/commando tactics. There's the "hovering" colonel/general in the background that taught him.  It's a great cinematic device.  I mean, c'mon, "The Terminator" was ripped off from Harlan Ellison.  I talked to Harlan briefly on the phone--that guy has had a ton of scripts stolen from him, and he now often serves as an "expert witness" in copyright theft cases, script theft is so prevalent in Hollywood.  Look at "Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark"--ripped off from "Secret of the Incas", 1954 with Charlton Heston.  Harrison Ford's outfit (fedora, leather jacket, scruffy unshaven look, pistol, tote bag, khaki, etc.) was ripped off from Heston's character Harry Steele.  "Secret of the Incas" is on YouTube--check it out.  209.77.229.154 (talk) 05:58, 8 July 2011 (UTC)
 * That's a pretty broad view on derivation—they're both action films of the same time period, they're going to have similar set pieces since that's the 'flavour of the week'. It's like the Cold War allegories in 50s sci-fi, or the needless explosions in 90s films. I wouldn't read too much into it. As for Harlan Ellison, I'll believe his tantrums the moment someone makes a film with an unhealthy amount of jellybeans springing out of nowhere. GRAPPLE   X  12:45, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

Ellison is a scumbag. Have you read The Soldier? Theres next to nothing resembling the Terminator by any stretch of the imagination, hes out for a pay day. The LITTERAL reason he sued is both scripts had a man who travels thru time. Thats it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.236.57.130 (talk) 09:08, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Box office
The article states that Commando was the 7th highest grossing film of 1985 worldwide, then lists five films which beat it. Where's number six? -mattbuck (Talk) 23:36, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Hydro portrayed in the film
What is the type of the hydro portrayed in this film? The type should appear in the article. Miguel.A.Lopez.Regalado (talk) 15:36, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Moved (non-admin closure) DavidLeighEllis (talk) 05:18, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

Commando (film) → Commando (1985 film) – Disambiguation against Commando (1988 film) and Commando (2013 film) per WP:NCF. 75.142.30.100 (talk) 02:52, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Support - should be uncontroversial, even given that the 2 others are Hindi films. In ictu oculi (talk) 11:04, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Support, in line with film naming conventions. Mat  ty  .  007  11:22, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Puppet government?
What has this film, and "puppet" versus "backed" got to do with Bowling for Columbine? I've not seen the latter, so am genuinely puzzled. As the onus is on the editor wanting to make changes, can you clarify this here, rather than making more changes? Thanks. Chaheel Riens (talk) 20:36, 1 September 2018 (UTC)

In Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore makes several examples of how the US have removed democratically-elected prime ministers and installed their own dictators in Central/South America and Asia (removing or assassinating Jacobo Arbenz in Guatamela, Salvador Allende in Chile, Noriega in Panama, Ngo Dinh Diem in Vietnam, among all the other war crimes they've committed). It's pretty obvious that Commando, though fictional, was one of those examples, so I don't really see why "US-puppet" had to be replaced with "US-backed", because the only way for a "US-backed" leader to stay alive or in power is if they obey their orders from Washington like a puppet. Jienum (talk) 21:15, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Of note, Die Hard 2 shows the same scenario, where the president of Val Verde has been abducted to stand some bullshit trial in the US (to be honest, when I saw it, I was "?????"). This is the US media's biased representation of their foreign policies, so there's not really any need to sugarcoat it on Wikipedia. The media are doing it every day anyway. Jienum (talk) 21:17, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
 * You seem to be letting personal opinion cloud your neutrality, despite this being an article about fiction. In reverse order, your comments about a bullshit trial mainly comes under WP:OTHERSTUFF, but if we were to consider it, I'd point out that the "bullshit" is drug trafficking, Esperanza himself kills at least two people (guard & pilot), and the method he uses to free himself results in the death of 230 people on a plane, the innocent fellow who lives in the church, and numerous other gunfight victims - such as the SWAT team on the way to the Skywalk.  Hardly the actions of a man up on "bullshit" charges.
 * Unless Bowling specifically makes the connection between Commando and your perceived US policy, it's synthesis or original research to suggest this is so.
 * There is nothing to suggest that Arius meets your criteria of being democratically elected - indeed he is described in all scenarios as being a Dictator - who is prepared to kill a child in order to get somebody to kill somebody else. Hardly a benign ruler, is he?
 * There is nothing in the film to suggest that the US government will gain any advantage, be it mineral, money or military, from helping to install the new ruler - a puppet state would be expected to give concessions to the US, and there's nothing to suggest this. In fact, looking at it more deeply, I see no reason to include either "US-backed" or "US-puppet" in the description, as it's sufficient to say that the revolution was US-backed and that the new leader trusts Matrix.
 * If you can find reliable sources (not wikis that have C&P'ed from an early version of our own Val Verde article) to support your claim that Val Verde has been turned into a puppet state, then ok, but otherwise I propose the removal of both terms. Chaheel Riens (talk) 07:11, 2 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Well, we've both expressed our opinions on the matter, we both know that in real life, the United States are no better than the other countries they demonise through the controlled media, and the good thing is, now that Donald Trump is in office, it's becoming more and more obvious every day. That's the one thing Trump's good for, showing the world what the United States truly stands for (business, not politics), but either way, coming back to the main topic, even though Hollywood is obviously going to portray the American bullies as the heroes who just want to take over and remove other leaders for their own gain (Commando and Die Hard 2 among numerous examples), I think what you suggested is the best option, to keep the article neutral by leaving out both "US-backed" and "US-puppet". I'll make the change right now and end this. Jienum (talk) 10:01, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

Query re lead info
"The film is the second of three collaboratorion between Schwarzenegger and Paxton, the first film being, The Terminator, released in 1984 and the third film being, True Lies, released in 1994."

Spelling/typo aside none of these films are "collaborations" between Arnie & Bill Paxton - BP just happens to be in the three films; I don't remember much about True Lies but he only has very minor roles in Terminator/Commando.

I'd suggest this be removed. 217.33.79.34 (talk) 05:18, 25 May 2020 (UTC)

Reminder: No connection to The Delta Force or other action films.
This editor has noted in the main article's edit history some occasions when references to the 1986 Chuck Norris film The Delta Force were removed, with the particular editor pointing out that no connection exists between 1985's Commando and The Delta Force.

One particular reason that some folks may erroneously assume that a connection between the films exists has to do with the name of John Matrix's Special Forces unit. For the record, Matrix and other characters in Commando make references to the Matrix-led unit, but not once is a nickname/callsign for the unit ever mentioned.

It should also be noted that Commando was released to theaters first, on October 4th 1985. The Delta Force would be released four months later on February 14th 1986. The date information comes from the general IMDB profiles of each film. Links to those IMDB profiles are found at the bottom of the Wikipedia article page for each film.

One further note -- There is no connection between Commando and any other action films made by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also, no connection with any action films made by such stars as Sylvester Stallone, Steven Segal, Bruce Willis or the afore-mentioned Chuck Norris, among many others.

Fgf2007 (talk) 01:54, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

Movie featured in another movie
In movie Lakshya_(2004_film) there is a scene in which the lead character is watching a scene of this movie (probably, while channel surfing on his TV). Should this point or information be included somewhere on this page ? Ravi arnie (talk) 20:22, 29 August 2021 (UTC)